Oh, how you yearned for their unrestrained chuckles -- their sparkling smiles -- to be transformed into naught but a cacophony of wailing and ceaseless misery. What gave them the right? Was it their fancy PCs, Macs and Xbox 360s? Did they so enjoy coasting down The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness on their technological toboggans that they couldn't even cast a single glance towards you, sitting atop a lonely and immobile PlayStation 3? Well, when the snow falls again this Winter, revenge will be yours.

Also, Trophies! Posting on the official PlayStation Blog (they let anybody on there these days), Hothead producer Joel DeYoung confirmed that the first episode of Penny Arcade Adventures would arrive on PSN before the end of the year, complete with Trophy support and 1080p resolution. "Looking back, I think it's a shame that we weren't able to release the PS3 version closer to the initial launch of the game," he said.

With the game's engine now up and running on the hardware, DeYoung expects that future episodes will arrive on Sony's platform in a more timely fashion. No more being left out in the cold, our monolithic friend.

This week's PSN update continues the trend of quality downloadable content going with the addition of The Last Guy and Warhawk's Fallen Star expansion. The Last Guy mashes up the eventual Zombie Apocalypse (it's coming) and Snake into a hectic old-school arcade-style action game. The other big piece of content this week is the latest expansion for online fragfest Warhawk at $8. All three Warhawk expansion packs are also available for $16.

PS3 Fanboy has the European PSN update over on their site. The list of the full North American update can be found after the break.

Sony CEO Howard Stringer has rightfully conceded that Nintendo has executed a winning business plan. "Nintendo makes money with the hardware alone," Stringer observed in a recent interview with WELT Online, adding that the competitor's strategy "may be a superior business model, but the Wii is not succeeding at our expense -- it is not hurting [PlayStation 3]." No, PlayStation 3 is hurting PlayStation 3. When questioned about the possibility of recouping the $3.32 billion loss attributed to the console's launch, Stringer joked, "Not for as long as I live." Wait a sec, was that a joke?

[Via Edge Online]

Those looking to help iron out the kinks in Sony's silicon-powered social gathering space, PlayStation Home, can now add Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan as valid entry locations for the program's closed beta. Sony's Hong Kong site (via Edge) is already asking readers to check back on August 29th for information on the test, which is expected to begin in mid-September.

Edge also notes that an open beta will commence this Fall, coinciding with similar events in Europe and the US. The more the merrier we say ... even if everybody in the virtual room is just whining about how a plain ol' menu would suffice.

Taking the stage and stepping in this week for the delayed Rush album, Moving Pictures, is American rock 'n' roll band, Locksley. They're certainly not as well known (at the moment) as Rush, but check out the videos after the break before automatically passing judgment on the DLC replacement band.

Locksley Pack 1 (240 / $3)

• "She Does" - Locksley (80 / $1)
• "Dont Make Me Wait" - Locksley (80 / $1)
• "All Over Again" - Locksley (80 / $1)

The songs should be available soon for download on Xbox 360 and PS3.

[Thanks to those who sent this in.]

It's harder to single out Nintendo for overlooking its "core audience" when you find out things like this. Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Shuhei Yoshida, Sony's head of worldwide studios, revealed that the company chose to fund development of a desktop toy virtual pet – EyePet – over a promising core audience action title, Eight Days.

When asked about the effect that canceling London Studio projects The Getaway 3 and Eight Days had on other titles, Yoshida responded, "There are so many things that we want to do, more than we can do with the resources. So when London Studio was looking at the early work on EyePet and the prototype of Eight Days, they knew they couldn't do all of them." So ... EyePet it was.

Granted, we don't know with any certainty that Eight Days was going to be any good, but an original action IP on a still very core audience console would seem like something worth investing more time in over a ... virtual pet.

Yohshida also said regarding the London Studio, "There are even more things they're working on at early concept stage." Tip for the staff there: If you don't want your big games canned, don't mention your "pet" projects to Shuhei the next time he pops in for a visit.

It's so easy to assume that Quantum of Solace is going to be just another rushed license game (even Daniel Craig did!). But after having sat down with a couple of the game's levels (full hands-on coming later), it's easy to see that this is one of Activision's strongest games of the 2008 lineup. We had a chat with the co-design director, Adam Gascoine, about the game and its development.

Quantum of Solace is the first Bond game to be released alongside its movie counterpart. Has this impacted development? Were you rushed?

We were worried about being rushed when we started the project, but thankfully we have a very solid relationship with the movie team. We were one of the first to see the script for the movie, plus we've been able to visit the sets and watch some filming several times now. All this made it a lot easier. We've been developing really since Casino Royale, about two and a half years in total, so we've had plenty of time to develop the game.

Parts of the game are reminiscent of Uncharted. Was this a particular inspiration during the development of Quantum of Solace?

Any good game is definitely an inspiration. I loved Uncharted. I played it twice. Parts of that game may well have influenced design decisions we made during development, just like any of the great 2007 titles. In particular, though, the quality of animation in Uncharted was definitely an inspiration.

It's been a long time coming, but VG247 quotes Sony Worldwide Studio head Shuhei Yoshida as saying Team ICO's next project may be revealed "soon." The anticipated next project by the team behind Shadow of the Colossus and Ico has merely been teased with some nondescript screenshots.

Yoshida tells the site that plans for the Tokyo Game Show have not been finalized -- presumably, the show would be the last major opportunity this year to reveal the project. It's about time this game made its public appearance, don't you think?

Can we make a formal request? Can Sony hire Itagaki to take Ken Kutaragi's old job? No, we know, Kaz technically has his old position, but Sony really needs someone out there saying crazy things about the PS3, and we think Itagaki's the man for the gig. Here's what he recently told 1UP: "I don't think that developing for the PS3 is hard at all. It was much harder developing for the Famicom. It's true. I mean, give someone who's developing for the PS3 a Famicom and see if they can make a game for it. They won't be able to. Yeah, that'll prove it. We'll bet a drink on it."

Bam! Crazy! Can you imagine getting that kind of stuff day in and day out from PS3 HQ? C'mon, Sony give that man whatever he wants ... and we do mean whatever.

Our friends at PS3 Fanboy recently had a chance to try out the guitar equivalent of the ION Drum Rocker: Starpex's premium (i.e. not plastic) guitar controller, which more or less looks like a gutted Fender Stratocaster. Their verdict is that the Starpex plays very well, but the $180 price tag is likely to turn off more than a few people. Bonus points for being fully compatible with both Guitar Hero and Rock Band, but no word on an Xbox 360 version. The Starpex will be available for PlayStation 3 and PS2 rockers, with a Wii version reportedly on the way later.

Rather than parsing the info out in tantalizing nuggets, Harmonix/MTV has just given us an expansive look at the future of Rock Band, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly. The magazine revealed six of the full albums headed to Rock Band 2, which we'll now happily pass along to you:

• Foo Fighters -- "The Colour and the Shape"
• Red Hot Chili Peppers -- "Blood Sugar Sex Magik"
• Jane's Addiction -- "Nothing's Shocking"
• Megadeth -- "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying"
• Stevie Ray Vaughn -- "Texas Flood"

The last album is a best-of No Doubt compilation made specifically for the game. Rather than try to impose our own musical tastes on you, we'll just pass the mic your way and ask which of those records has your head banging in anticipation.

[Thanks, Jon]

The UK's official Xbox 360 magazine posed an inevitable question to Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono: How's it going to play online? For his part, Ono was quite frank, saying, "Obviously lag will be a huge problem for online play. We're working on it. It's quite difficult for 3D Street Fighter at the moment."

Asked how the developer is going about, er, combating the problem, Ono got technical. "In order to prevent the lag we're thinking about trying to balance it up at [the] user interface level and input timing," he said. "We still haven't got a complete plan as yet. We're still working on it. That's all we can say at the moment." Okay ... we'll let you get back to that, then.

An Activision press release that just landed in our inbox breathlessly details every single promotional tie-in that Guitar Hero World Tour's packing. Really, it's a huge list! Here it is, straight from the release: "Ampeg, Audio-Technica, EMG Pickups, Ernie Ball, Evans Drumheads, Guitar Center, Krank Amplification, Mackie, Marshall, Orange County Drum & Percussion, Pork Pie Percussion, Regal Tip, Sabian cymbals, Vox and Zildjian drumsticks."

Notice anything missing? Considering it's busy trying to sue everyone but Activision, even retailers, it's unsurprising that guitar-maker (and patent-claimer) Gibson is nowhere to be seen. Of course, the total absence of any Gibson branding on Guitar Hero World Tour's Genericasters was our first clue but it would appear that lack of cooperation extends to the in-game experience as well. So, while you trick out your virtual drum kit with gear from the above purveyors, your axe will remain hopelessly generic. Isn't there any game in town besides Gibson and Rock Band BFF's Fender?

Something totally gross is afoot on the intergalactic mining vessel USG Ishimura. The latest issue of the animated Dead Space comic is now available for your viewing pleasure, complete with subtle pans, focus pulls, and just enough squishy sound effects to get the whole thing across.

As far as video game advertising goes, we've gotta say these comics/videos are pretty effective. Watching these chumps try and kill the space-baddies is pretty frustrating when we all know that you need to strategically dismember them. You can't just shoot willy-nilly! And seriously, how do you expect to do any damage without a badass spacesuit and accompanying laser triton? You know what, forget it! We'll just do it ourselves ... drat, advertising!

"Hang on a minute," I thought as I played Guitar Hero: World Tour at Activision's booth at the Leipzig Games Convention, "Isn't this Rock Band?" The layout on the World Tour screen is almost identical to Harmonix's series, with the guitars on either side, the drums scrolling down the middle (with the same horizontal bars displaying bass notes, except in World Tour they're purple, not orange) and the vocals on top. The star power meter, along with the rock meter, is kept in the top left, which means that if you're playing drums or bass guitar, it's not very easy to see.

It took a little while to get used to the drums. The two-tier structure with the cymbals feels great, but can be slightly confusing at first. The drums are a lot bouncier than the Rock Band ones, making them not only quieter, but more fun to play. With Rock Band, the bounce seems to come more from the way the sticks are held, rather than out of the structural nature of the pads. Not hearing the constant thok, thok is definitely preferable too, as anyone who has bought silencing pads for their Rock Band drums will know. [Editor's note: Rock Band 2 also features quieter, bouncier drums.]